Navidrome-MCP

Navidrome MCP Server

Transform your Navidrome music server with an AI-powered music assistant. This MCP (Model Context Protocol) server enables Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants to interact with your personal music library through natural language, offering intelligent playlist creation, music discovery, and library management.

Why Navidrome MCP?

Imagine having an AI assistant that truly understands your music taste. This MCP server enables AI assistants to:

Analyze your listening patterns and create perfectly curated playlists
Discover hidden gems in your library based on your mood or activity
Build custom radio stations from your favorite tracks
Find music similar to what you love using Last.fm's recommendation engine
Discover internet radio stations from around the world with advanced filtering
Get synchronized lyrics with millisecond-precision timestamps for your favorite tracks
Manage your library with simple conversational commands

This isn't just another music tool – it's your personal music curator powered by AI.

Features

🎵 Music Library Management

Intelligent Browsing: Navigate songs, albums, artists, and genres with smart filtering
Deep Search: Full-text search across all metadata or targeted searches for specific content
Rich Metadata: Access detailed information about tracks, albums, and artists
Tag Analysis: Explore and analyze metadata tags (genre, composer, label, year, and more)
Clean Responses: Optimized data transfer with only essential fields (~10 properties vs 50+ raw)

🎶 Intelligent Playlist Creation

AI Assistant Integration: Enables AI assistants to analyze your taste and build themed playlists
Smart Management: Create, update, and organize playlists conversationally
Flexible Track Addition: Add songs by ID, entire albums, artist discographies, or specific discs
Dynamic Reordering: Rearrange tracks with simple commands
Cross-Reference: Find which playlists contain specific songs

🎼 Personalized Music Discovery

Listening Data Access: Provides listening history data for AI assistants to understand your preferences
Similar Artist/Track Finding: Discover music similar to your favorites via Last.fm
Artist Deep Dives: Get biographies, popular tracks, and related artists
Global Trends: Browse worldwide music charts and trending genres
Library Analysis Tools: Access data to help AI assistants find overlooked tracks in your library

📻 Smart Radio Management

Stream Validation: Test radio URLs before adding to avoid broken streams
Format Detection: Automatic detection of MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC streams
Metadata Extraction: Pull station info from SHOUTcast/Icecast headers
Custom Station Creation: Build radio stations from your collection
One-Time Setup Tips: Smart contextual help that appears only when needed

🌍 Internet Radio Discovery

Global Station Database: Access thousands of internet radio stations worldwide via Radio Browser
Advanced Filtering: Search by genre, country, language, codec, bitrate, and more
Automatic Validation: Discovered stations are tested for availability
Quality Control: Filter out broken stations and focus on high-quality streams
Popularity Metrics: Discover stations by vote count and listener engagement
Station Management: Tools for AI assistants to add discovered stations to your collection

🎤 Synchronized Lyrics

Time-Synchronized Lyrics: Get lyrics with millisecond-precision timestamps for line-by-line timing
Dual Format Support: Access both time-synced and plain text lyrics
Community-Powered: Lyrics sourced from LRCLIB's community database
Smart Matching: Automatic matching by title, artist, album, and duration
No API Keys Required: Free lyrics access without registration

📊 Analytics & Insights

Listening Patterns: Understand your music habits with play statistics
Taste Evolution: Track how your preferences change over time
Most/Least Played: Discover your true favorites and forgotten tracks
Genre Distribution: Access data about your library's composition for analysis
Recommendation Data: Provides data for AI assistants to generate suggestions based on your history

⭐ Preference Management

Star System: Mark favorites for quick access
5-Star Ratings: Rate content for better recommendations
Queue Control: Manage playback queues across devices
Data Access for Organization: Provides preference data for AI assistants to help organize your collection

Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+ (Download here)
pnpm package manager (Install instructions)
Running Navidrome server with your music library
Claude Desktop or ChatGPT Desktop (or any MCP-compatible client)

Quick Setup

1. Clone and Build

git clone https://github.com/Blakeem/Navidrome-MCP.git
cd navidrome-mcp
pnpm install
pnpm build

Configure Claude Desktop

Find your configuration file:

Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the Navidrome MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "navidrome": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/navidrome-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "NAVIDROME_URL": "http://your-server:4533",
        "NAVIDROME_USERNAME": "your_username",
        "NAVIDROME_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "LASTFM_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
        "RADIO_BROWSER_USER_AGENT": "Navidrome-MCP/1.0 (+https://github.com/Blakeem/Navidrome-MCP)",
        "LYRICS_PROVIDER": "lrclib",
        "LRCLIB_USER_AGENT": "Navidrome-MCP/1.0 (+https://github.com/Blakeem/Navidrome-MCP)"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important:

Use absolute paths (full path from root)
Get a free Last.fm API key at Last.fm (optional - enables music discovery)
Radio Browser integration requires a User-Agent string (enables station discovery)
Lyrics integration works without API keys (LRCLIB is free)
Features are automatically enabled/disabled based on available configuration
Restart Claude Desktop after saving

Configure ChatGPT Desktop

Open ChatGPT Desktop
Go to Settings → Connectors
Click Create and add:
- Command: node
- Args: /absolute/path/to/navidrome-mcp/dist/index.js
- Environment variables: Same as above
Save and restart

Powerful Usage Examples

🎯 Smart Discovery & Playlist Creation

"Look at my most played artists, find what albums I'm missing from their discographies, and tell me which ones are most popular"
"Create a 'Best of Pink Floyd' playlist using Last.fm's top tracks data, but only with songs I actually own"
"Analyze my recently played songs, find similar tracks in my library I haven't played in 6 months, and create a rediscovery playlist"
"Build me a playlist mixing my top 10 most played songs with similar tracks from artists I own but rarely listen to"

🔍 Collection Gap Analysis

"Show me which albums are missing from my top 5 most played artists and rank them by Last.fm popularity"
"Find artists where I only own singles or compilations, not their main albums"
"Identify my favorite genres, then show me highly-rated albums in those genres that I don't own"
"Look at artists similar to my favorites and tell me which ones I already have in my library but never play"

📻 Radio Station Maintenance

"Go through all my existing radio stations, validate each one, and remove the broken ones"
"Here are 10 jazz radio URLs I found online - test them all and add only the working ones with good bitrates"
"Find the top-voted jazz and classical stations worldwide, validate them, and add the best 5 of each genre"
"Check all my radio stations and replace any broken ones with similar working stations"

🎼 Advanced Playlist Automation

"Create a 'Hidden Gems' playlist with 5-star rated songs that have less than 5 plays"
"Build weekly playlists based on what I listened to most each month of last year"
"Make a 'Complete Artist Journey' playlist with one top track from each album of my top 10 artists, in chronological order"
"Generate mood playlists by analyzing my listening patterns: what I play in mornings vs evenings vs weekends"

📊 Listening Insights & Organization

"Analyze my jazz collection: show play counts, ratings, and find which albums I've never fully listened to"
"Find duplicate songs across different albums and create a cleanup list"
"Show me my listening evolution: which genres I've moved away from and which I'm playing more"
"Identify 'one-hit wonders' in my library - artists where I only play one song repeatedly"

Available Tools

🔧 Core System

Tool	Description
`test_connection`	Verify Navidrome server connectivity and feature status

📚 Library Management

Tool	Description
`list_songs`	Browse songs with filtering and sorting
`list_albums`	Browse albums with metadata
`list_artists`	Browse artists with statistics
`list_genres`	View all music genres in library
`get_song`	Detailed song information
`get_album`	Detailed album information
`get_artist`	Detailed artist information

🔍 Search & Discovery

Tool	Description
`search_all`	Search across all content types
`search_songs`	Search for specific songs
`search_albums`	Search for albums
`search_artists`	Search for artists
`get_similar_artists`	Find similar artists (Last.fm)
`get_similar_tracks`	Find similar tracks (Last.fm)
`get_artist_info`	Artist biography and tags
`get_trending_music`	Global music trends

🎵 Playlist Operations

Tool	Description
`list_playlists`	View all playlists
`create_playlist`	Create new playlist
`update_playlist`	Update playlist metadata
`delete_playlist`	Remove playlist
`get_playlist_tracks`	Get playlist contents
`add_tracks_to_playlist`	Add songs/albums/artists
`batch_add_tracks_to_playlist`	Batch add multiple sets of tracks
`remove_tracks_from_playlist`	Remove specific tracks
`reorder_playlist_track`	Rearrange track order

⭐ Ratings & Favorites

Tool	Description
`star_item`	Mark as favorite
`unstar_item`	Remove from favorites
`set_rating`	Set 0-5 star rating
`list_starred_items`	View favorites
`list_top_rated`	View highest rated items

📊 Analytics & History

Tool	Description
`list_recently_played`	View recent listening activity
`list_most_played`	Find most played content
`get_queue`	View playback queue
`set_queue`	Set playback queue

📻 Radio Management

Tool	Description
`validate_radio_stream`	Test stream URL validity
`list_radio_stations`	View all stations
`create_radio_station`	Add new station (with optional validation*)
`batch_create_radio_stations`	Batch add multiple stations (with optional validation*)
`play_radio_station`	Start radio playback
`discover_radio_stations`	Find internet radio stations globally
`get_radio_filters`	Get available search filters (genres, countries, etc.)
`get_station_by_uuid`	Get detailed station information
`click_station`	Register play click for popularity metrics
`vote_station`	Vote for a radio station

*Note: Both create_radio_station and batch_create_radio_stations support an optional validateBeforeAdd parameter that will test stream URLs before adding them to Navidrome.

🎤 Lyrics & Timestamps

Tool	Description
`get_lyrics`	Get synchronized and plain text lyrics

🏷️ Metadata & Tags

Tool	Description
`list_tags`	Browse all metadata tags
`search_by_tags`	Search by specific tags
`get_tag_distribution`	Analyze tag usage

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Connection Problems

Verify Navidrome server is running
Check URL includes protocol (http:// or https://)
Ensure credentials are correct
Test with curl or browser first

macOS Specific

See macOS Troubleshooting Guide
Common issue: Node.js path not found
Solution: Create symlinks or use full paths

Configuration Issues

Use absolute paths in config files
Validate JSON syntax (no trailing commas)
Check environment variables are set
Restart client after changes

Limitations

Playback Control: This MCP server manages your library and queues but doesn't directly control playback. Use your Navidrome client app for play/pause/skip.

Recently Played: Navidrome doesn't provide last-played timestamps, only play counts and completion status.

Queue Management: Works with Subsonic-compatible clients that support jukebox mode.

Development

Setup for Contributors

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/Blakeem/Navidrome-MCP.git
cd navidrome-mcp
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your credentials

# Development
pnpm dev       # Hot reload mode
pnpm test      # Run tests
pnpm lint      # Check code style
pnpm typecheck # Type checking

Testing with MCP Inspector

# Build first
pnpm build

# Web UI testing
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

# CLI testing
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node dist/index.js \
  --method tools/call \
  --tool-name search_all \
  --tool-arg query="jazz"

Project Structure

navidrome-mcp/
├── src/           # TypeScript source
├── dist/          # Compiled JavaScript
├── docs/          # Documentation
├── tests/         # Test suites
└── CLAUDE.md      # AI assistant instructions

License

Code: AGPL-3.0

Source code is licensed under GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE.

Documentation: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Documentation is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions

Built with ❤️ for the Navidrome community